The Economic Impact of Investing in Schools

Does improving schools have a long-term economic impact? That’s the question a group of researchers recently set out to answer.

The short answer: Yes.

The longer answer: School quality impacts state GDP. That is, there’s a clear correlation between school quality and a state’s economic success — states with higher-performing schools have better GDP’s.

Strong correlation between test scores and economic growth. Differences in achievement attainment account for 20-35 percent of variation in per-capita GDP among states.

Investments in quality public education translate into workforce quality and fuel economic growth.
The future of our workforce and state economy is tied to the academic achievement and educational attainment of our students.

There’s a handy state-by-state breakdown that shows how each state can maximize the benefits of improving public education.

It’s worth noting that spending more money doesn’t always lead to gains, as the data and graphs will demonstrate. However, investments that result in overall improvements in quality do yield positive results in terms of long-term economic impact.